The Learning Policy Institute recently published a report regarding the growing teacher shortage in the United States. According to the report, nearly every state has reported some level of teacher shortage, but the problems leading to the shortage vary by state.

“Meanwhile, with student enrollments projected to grow by 3 million over the next decade, teacher demand is growing at a time when fewer people are entering teacher preparation programs.” – Washington Post’s Valerie Strauss

In the last year, 48 states reported that special education was a shortage area for them, 42 states identified mathematics, and 40 said they had shortages in science. According to various surveys, we’re experiencing these teacher shortages because teacher morale is very low. Educators say that they’ve been made scapegoats for problems in education, and two-thirds of teachers who leave the profession quit before retirement age because they’re dissatisfied with teaching conditions.

At Elevate Teachers, we’re disappointed to see our home state of Indiana among the lowest-rated for teaching attractiveness. It’s important that we fix our problems with teacher morale and interest in careers in education before the teacher shortage gets even worse.